Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $37.19 and last traded at $37.0150, with a volume of 11195 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saul Centers in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Saul Centers presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Saul Centers Stock Up 2.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $914.46 million, a PE ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $74.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.11 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 12.43%.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 222.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Saul Centers news, COO David Todd Pearson acquired 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $34.74 per share, for a total transaction of $90,324.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 79,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,755,611.54. The trade was a 3.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 51.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 48.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 7.6% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,742 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Saul Centers Company Profile

Saul Centers, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the ownership, development and management of retail properties. The company’s portfolio is focused on grocery-anchored and necessity-based shopping centers, providing stable, long-term cash flows through leasing arrangements with national and regional retailers. In addition to ground-up development, Saul Centers actively pursues redevelopment and adaptive reuse projects to enhance value in existing assets.

Founded by the Saul family in 1945, Saul Centers has grown from a local real estate development firm into a listed REIT while maintaining its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.